CLEARLAKE – Recently reelected Clearlake City Council members took their oaths of office on Thursday and the council chose its new leadership for the coming year.
City Clerk Melissa Swanon administered the oath of office to Mayor Curt Giambruno and Council members Judy Thein and Joyce Overton at the Thursday evening meeting.
Before giving the oath, Swanson announced the November election's official results.
She said of the 6,479 registered voters in the city of Clearlake, 4,149 cast votes in the November election, which is a 64-percent turnout rate.
The final canvass, conducted by county Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley, tallied the final votes as follows: Thein, 2,157; Overton, 1,810; Giambruno, 1,586; James M. Reed, 1,421; Bill Shields, 1,125; and Estella Creek, 807.
Following a unanimous vote by the council to approve the election results, Giambruno, Overton and Thein took the oath of office.
At the start of the meeting, Vice Mayor Chuck Leonard presented Giambruno with a certificate of appreciation for his work as mayor over the past year.
Giambruno, in turn, gave Leonard a certificate, thanking him for his support on the council. “He got me out of trouble numerous times,” he said.
He added that Leonard and his wife also had been very supportive of Giambruno when his wife died earlier this year. Giambruno's voice broke as he thanked Leonard.
Toward the end of the meeting, the council appointed local residents to a new redevelopment committee. Each member offered their own nominee to the five-member committee: Leonard nominated Jim Scholz, Overton nominated Rick Mayo, Thein nominated Doug Codling, Giambruno nominated Bill Perkins and Roy Simons nominated Cheryl Hutchinson.
The council then chose its leadership, with Leonard selected unanimously to be mayor in 2009.
Leonard in turn nominated Thein for vice mayor, with Overton nominating Simons. The council approved Thein as vice mayor in a 3-2 vote.
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